out. I caught Mark’s eye and jerked my head in the direction of Martin’s fleeing back. Mark got up and followed him out.
I looked at O’Connell. The two uniformed cops had already left. “I know I can’t ask anything about this case, but if you had to guess, would you say it’s related to his threats?”
“I don’t know. What do you think?” I was pretty sure I knew what he thought because I was thinking the same thing.
“Coinc idences don’t happen very often. Are you checking in to the employees?” I queried.
“ You say you understand I can’t talk about the case, and yet, you still want to talk about the case. Kinda funny how that works, don’t you think?”
“I’m askin g about procedure, not the case.” I was splitting hairs, but he let me get away with it.
“We interviewed everyone in the building and everyone outside. We’re canvassing the area to see if anyone’s seen anything. And don’t worry, we will check into what was going on in the other building. If you had to guess, what floor would you say?”
I was pleased with his response, particularly since he had promised to share his findin gs. I shut my eyes and tried to count up. “Maybe somewhere near seven. I can’t be sure.”
“It’s a start.” He handed me his card. “You think of anything else…”
“Let you know,” I finished for him. He smiled politely and left.
I sat in Martin’s office alone for quite some time. I didn’t realize how much time had passed; it might have been a few minutes or a few hours. The floor was dead. Bad choice of words, I scolded myself. Griffin was either hiding somewhere, or maybe she left for the day. I wasn’t sure. Eventually, Mark and Martin came back to find me in the same spot.
“You sure you’re all right?” Mark asked , concerned by my lack of movement.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I was just letting everything seep in.” I had shut down after the initial adrenaline rush had worn off, but they didn’t need to know that. “Some coffee would be nice, though.”
“I’ll go make some,” Mark offered. “You’ve got a pot in your office, right?” I nodded. My door was open since I hadn’t bothered to shut it after being questioned.
Martin sat next to me. “Hell of a day. Are you sure you’re okay?” He absently brushed his fingers across the bandage on my arm.
“ I’m fine, just adrenaline crash. Nothing some caffeine can’t fix. Are you okay?” I was functioning better now that I had some interaction with people.
“Thanks to you, b ut I’m getting really sick of all this bullshit,” he sighed. I was too. Maybe I had signed on to a job I wasn’t prepared to handle. All leads had been dead ends, and now we probably had some dead bodies to add to the mix.
Mark came back in the room , balancing three cups of coffee in his two hands. “Here.” He handed out the mugs. “I think you need to up your security here and at home. I can have some of my guys keep an eye on things for you. They are always looking for opportunities to moonlight and make a little extra cash.” Martin was going to protest, but before he could say anything, words starting pouring out of my mouth without my permission.
“I’ll do it,” I announced to everyone’s surprise, including my own. “If you want, I can stay with you around the clock until we stop the asshole or assholes behind this. You’ll probably want to have more security than just me, but…”
Martin cut me off. “O kay.” He almost sounded relieved. Stupid, I screamed at myself. What in the world are you thinking?
I looked at him quizzically. “That was too easy? What’s your endgame?” I was beginning to get a feel for my boss, and if he was relieved, then he must have planned it all along. I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Well, isn’t it just the natural next step for the girlfriend to move in, especially after a life-threatening experience?” he asked innocently. Mark almost choked on the mouthful of coffee he
I looked at O’Connell. The two uniformed cops had already left. “I know I can’t ask anything about this case, but if you had to guess, would you say it’s related to his threats?”
“I don’t know. What do you think?” I was pretty sure I knew what he thought because I was thinking the same thing.
“Coinc idences don’t happen very often. Are you checking in to the employees?” I queried.
“ You say you understand I can’t talk about the case, and yet, you still want to talk about the case. Kinda funny how that works, don’t you think?”
“I’m askin g about procedure, not the case.” I was splitting hairs, but he let me get away with it.
“We interviewed everyone in the building and everyone outside. We’re canvassing the area to see if anyone’s seen anything. And don’t worry, we will check into what was going on in the other building. If you had to guess, what floor would you say?”
I was pleased with his response, particularly since he had promised to share his findin gs. I shut my eyes and tried to count up. “Maybe somewhere near seven. I can’t be sure.”
“It’s a start.” He handed me his card. “You think of anything else…”
“Let you know,” I finished for him. He smiled politely and left.
I sat in Martin’s office alone for quite some time. I didn’t realize how much time had passed; it might have been a few minutes or a few hours. The floor was dead. Bad choice of words, I scolded myself. Griffin was either hiding somewhere, or maybe she left for the day. I wasn’t sure. Eventually, Mark and Martin came back to find me in the same spot.
“You sure you’re all right?” Mark asked , concerned by my lack of movement.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I was just letting everything seep in.” I had shut down after the initial adrenaline rush had worn off, but they didn’t need to know that. “Some coffee would be nice, though.”
“I’ll go make some,” Mark offered. “You’ve got a pot in your office, right?” I nodded. My door was open since I hadn’t bothered to shut it after being questioned.
Martin sat next to me. “Hell of a day. Are you sure you’re okay?” He absently brushed his fingers across the bandage on my arm.
“ I’m fine, just adrenaline crash. Nothing some caffeine can’t fix. Are you okay?” I was functioning better now that I had some interaction with people.
“Thanks to you, b ut I’m getting really sick of all this bullshit,” he sighed. I was too. Maybe I had signed on to a job I wasn’t prepared to handle. All leads had been dead ends, and now we probably had some dead bodies to add to the mix.
Mark came back in the room , balancing three cups of coffee in his two hands. “Here.” He handed out the mugs. “I think you need to up your security here and at home. I can have some of my guys keep an eye on things for you. They are always looking for opportunities to moonlight and make a little extra cash.” Martin was going to protest, but before he could say anything, words starting pouring out of my mouth without my permission.
“I’ll do it,” I announced to everyone’s surprise, including my own. “If you want, I can stay with you around the clock until we stop the asshole or assholes behind this. You’ll probably want to have more security than just me, but…”
Martin cut me off. “O kay.” He almost sounded relieved. Stupid, I screamed at myself. What in the world are you thinking?
I looked at him quizzically. “That was too easy? What’s your endgame?” I was beginning to get a feel for my boss, and if he was relieved, then he must have planned it all along. I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Well, isn’t it just the natural next step for the girlfriend to move in, especially after a life-threatening experience?” he asked innocently. Mark almost choked on the mouthful of coffee he
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